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P. 0. WATKINS. CENTRAL OFFICE TELEPHONE SWITCH BOARD. No. 355,425.

(No Model.)

Patented Jan. 4, 1887.

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UNITED. STATES PATENT Fries.

FRANK G. 'WA'IKINS, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOB, BY MESN EASSIGNMENTS, TO THE UNITED STATES KROTOPHONE COMPANY,

or New YORK, N. Y.

CENTRAL-OFFICE TELEPHONE SWITCH-BOARD SPECIFICATION forming part ofLetters Patent No. 355,425, dated January l, 1867.

Application filed April 21, 1886.

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Beit known that I, FRANK C. VATKINS, a citizen of the United States,residing at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and 5 State ofPennsylvania, have invented certain I new and useful Improvements inCentral- Oflice Telephone Switch-Boards; and I do decl are the followingto be a full, clear, and exact description of the inventiomsuch as willena- 1o ble others skilled in the art towhich it appen tains to make anduse the same, reference be ing had to the accompanying drawings,and tothe ,lettcrs and figures of reference marked thereon,which form a partof this specification. I5 My invention has relation to telephoniccentralbffice switchboards, and the object of the invention is toprovide a simple and reliable switch. for connecting one line withanother; and the novelty consists in the combination, 20 construction,and arrangement of the parts of the same, as will be hereinafter morefully described, and particularly pointed out in the claim.

In the accompanying drawings, similar lot- 2 tors of reference indicatelike parts of the in Vention.

Figure l is a front elevation of my improved switch-board, and Fig. 2 isatransverse verti cal section through one of the vertical line- 0strips.

A is the frame, and the face of it is provided with a series of metallicstrips, B, and above each strip is an annunciator, C, the subscribersline D running through the annunciator 5 Cto the binding-postc,connected to the strip 13.

F F is a series of hooked levers fulcrumed in the strip B, their hookedends having a detachable weight, G, hung thereto, while the rear end ofeach lever extends through the 40 frame A, and each one is provided witha coir tactspring, II, which formsa connection with one of a series oflongitudinal metallic strips, I, extending across the back of the frame,and when a weight is hung on the hooked end of 5 the lever thecontact-spring on that lever is connected to the metallic strip behindit.

The normal condition of the board is as follows: The top longitudinalstrip, 1, is connected with the ground, and each line comes so inthrough its annunciator and through the Serial No. 199,718. (No model.)

top hooked lever to the ground. A row of weights being hung on the rowof top levers, when a subscriber'calls his annunciator drops, whichnotifies the attendant, and he removes theweight from the top lever andplaces it on 55 any one of the lovers not in use on the same verticalstrip. This connects that strip with the corresponding longitudinalstrip on the back, and by removing the weight from the calledsubseriliiers vertical strip and placing it on the lever correspondingto the longitudinal strip on which the calling subscribers line isswitched the two are ready for communication, and when through theweights on both strips are replaced on the top levers, 6 as abovedescribed. For example, suppose the fourth subscriber from the leftwishes to communicate with the seventh. hen the fourth calls centraloffice his annunciator drops and he notifies the operator to connect himwith numberseven. The operator then removes the weight from its place onthe top lever, which takes it off the ground, and places the weight onany one of the lower hooks on the same vertical strip, and at the sametime removes number sevens weight from the top lever and places it on'the lever corresponding to the longitudinal strip on the back, on whichthe calling subscribers weight was placed,and the two subscribers are incommunication.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and useful, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

A switch-board provided with a seriesoi' vertical metallic strips, eachone of which is connected to an individual linethrough an an nunciator,and having a series of weighted levers, in combination with a series oflongitudinal metallic strips arranged across the back of the board,whereby a weight attached to the hooked end of oneIof the levers willcon nect it with the corresponding strip on the back, substantially asshown and described.

In testimony whereof I a'lfix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

FRANK (l. WATKINS.

Witnesses:

H. J. ENNis. J No. N. QLIVER.

